Our Ibiza "Musts"

I want to share with you all these essential places and pleasures of our beloved Ibiza. They are "mandatory" experiences for us whenever we step on the island. Of course, Ibiza is so immense in corners and pleasures that we consider ourselves fortunate to be enhancing our list of favorites year after year. This seriously hampers the task of advising the new Ibiza visitor about what should not be missed. So I'll just expose our list of "routines" we follow every time we are on the island. This way we never leave with the bitter aftertaste of not having lived it intensely.

1) Soak up the sunshine in "Caló d'en Serra": this cove near Portinatx is a treat for the senses. Wild and remote, only assaulted in its unique landscape by a concrete monstrosity that some unscrupulous wanted to plant there a few years ago. Thanks to providence it was stopped, or ran out of money, to finish the work. The skeleton of the monster continues in that corner without bothering, at least providing shade for vehicles of those who dare to go down its steep access.

2) Paella at El Carmen in Cala d'Hort: we dream all year round on this delicious paella and its intense saffron aroma. If you also have the privilege of tasting it with the best views of "Es Vedrà" in front of you, in the terrace of the Hostal El Carmen, the experience becomes addictive.

3) Swim in the crystal clear waters of "Cala Saladeta": I have not seen water like this anywhere else in the World. Observed at close range, the boats seem to fly at 3 or 4 meters from the white sandy bottom. Fresh and clear water, where blue ranges are endless. I recharge my batteries for months every time I have the good fortune to dive into them.

4) Getting lost on the roads of the interior and north of the island: to follow those steep narrow roads linking the lost interior villages transports you to another time. It takes you to the time of simple and authentic life, showing its last flashes briefly in one of its corners. Santa Agnes, Sant Mateu, Sant Llorenç, Sant Agustí, Santa Gertrudis, Sant Joan, Benimussa, are the very essence of Ibiza.

5) Fresh fish or seafood rice in "Sa Caleta": a place run by lovely people, hardworking and dedicated. They will not let you leave their home without having tasted the best of Ibiza's cuisine. Always with a smile, ready to advise and share their joy of you having a great culinary experience. A place open 365 days a year that makes you feel privileged to taste the best Mediterranean sea offers.

6) Embrace Ibiza's night in "KM5": in its terrace you will find the very best of the island. Beautiful people eager to enjoy to the full the magical setting that offers that rustic farmhouse converted into one of the best night spots in Ibiza. Elegant dance music to enjoy inside contrasts with the "chill" environment in its gardens, corners to enjoy  conversation and company that in KM5 always become special.

7) Fried squid, bread, aioli and "herbetes" (local herbs liquor) at "Ca l'Anneta": the mythical bar of San Carlos, a few minutes from home, it is always a mandatory stop to enjoy that delicious fried food, always finished off with a glass of the house's "herbetes Eivissenques". Sitting on that terrace, lined with old wooden mailboxes, you embark  on a journey to Ibiza's hippy era which all the island's fans would have loved to live.

8) Sunset in our "secret" corner of "Cala Conte": walking on a carpet of marine life to reach the sea and swim to the solar disk when it is hiding behind the islands that adorn the horizon at "Platges de Conte". After such a mystical experience, one always finds a greeting moon that invites to share with her the freshness and sensuality of Ibiza's night.

9) "Stealing" the fruits of our "private" fig tree in the road to "Benirrás": it is all part of a ritual... Returning from a day at the beach in Benirrás you discover a fig tree full of mature and ready to eat fruit. Stopping to buy a good home made goat cheese from the island peasants. Completing that intense mix of Mediterranean flavors with strong Ibiza's land wine . Swearing you will not stop until you get to turn this island into your home...

10) Living in Cala Martina: our home in Ibiza, little known to the vast majority of visitors. A cove where red dirt fields covered with flowers reach almost to the sea, with a mirror of calm and flat waters. Day after day you cannot help but wonder how it is possible not a simple distorted wave moves. It is our favorite corner of the island. A unique place where in less than one square kilometer you can find a Roman aqueduct, the largest Hippy Market in Ibiza, the new home of one of the most exclusive beach clubs in the World, one of the best diving centers in Europe, the breathtaking cliffs of Punta Arabi, one of the most authentic "chiriguitos" in the island, one of the best fresh seafood restaurants in Ibiza, seabeds so full of life that overwhelm, an old country home where sheeps still roam freely and greet everyone who passes by the road... We cannot find a more special place. It is HOME.

And you? What are your IBIZA "musts"?

Why your business must be "social"?

No one doubts that the way we communicate has changed at breakneck speed in less than 10 years. In the last 3 we have seen a social network like Twitter becoming an essential reference tool to taste the feedback from the public on any hot topic. The rapid reaction of this network users through comments and ideas on any subject, almost in real time, has revolutionized the access to sources of information that traditional media used for decades. We begin to hear the first hard voices demanding that the “feeling” of the street is not on Twitter, and there are all kinds of studies of social and cultural institutions that have been thrown head-to analyze this fascinating phenomenon.

No business owner, trader, entrepreneur or self-employed doubts that without internet presence their business does not "exist". And it looks like now this inevitably extends to social networks. The availability and easy access to a multitude of promotional tools that these communication platforms offer today also makes it virtually the first source of consumers and users queries. Social media presence has become key to building a reputation on-line that connects transparency and closeness to the customer also providing an invaluable source of information for the head of the company. Out of the many reasons we can find for a business to be active in social media, I wanted to rescue the 5 which I believe fundamental:

1) If you're not "on-line", you don’t exist:

Although at a particular level we feel more or less inclined to participate in social networks, today’s methods to share and communicate rely on them. These networks have increased the frequency and volume with which we are able to develop new relationships, find information and talk to a wide community of contacts. They have heavily impacted on the way in which individuals interact socially, emotionally and psychologically. In the mids of such sociological and cultural change we are facing, these modes of communication have changed the way we do business.

It will be tough from now for a company to survive without the "social factor". If you do not communicate online (informing your clients and contacts, educating, entertaining and converting new clients into "partners") you run the risk of becoming a dim memory of the past. Your professional connections today need to be fed of firsthand information about you and your business, about what you do and the influence you will have on their lives.

2) Social networks are the new generation of "word of mouth" marketing:

And we all know that there is no better and more reliable promotional item than that. The most people with the desired profile we can reach, the most likely for them to become customers and "promoters" of our brand. Our sphere of influence is the people in and around our business we interact. There will always be individuals having greater influence on their environment so we must invest a little time to know them, to observe and learn how to attract such audience. When we get to develop a relationship with these key contacts we positively influence people perception and that increases our credibility in the online environment.

3) Costs are very low if compared to potential benefits:

Social networks are very cheap when compared to other more traditional marketing channels. Big brands total expenditure in these media are generally less than the cost of a simple advertising campaign. The level of return on this investment is excellent when compared to the saturation of advertising that reached consumers in recent times. Networks are much more effective to attract and motivate the client. As remarked in the previous section, we know that "word of mouth" is much more effective than traditional advertising and networks enhance this factor to generate sales and loyalty at a much lower cost.

4) Communicating through social media humanizes your brand / business:

Using marketing jargon in an environment so different from traditional media simply does not work. No room for that in networks because users establish a closer relationship, more transparent, where an advertising language "squeaks". Company and brand placement in these channels is a unique opportunity to connect with their audience on a personal level, even emotional, to create direct relationships, face to face.

5) Your competitors are already doing it!:

Every industry or market is already represented on Facebook and Twitter. It is an easy fact to check if we go into Google and type "our industry" + Facebook and observe the results. In 2011 the benefit of this social network advertising reached 3,800 million dollars and in 2012 they were over 5,000 million. Another proven fact is that 40% of small businesses that have a presence on Facebook recognize that it is their only means of promotion.

Companies are spending more and more money in advertising their brands and creating great social networks. That gives us a clear idea that these channels are actually working.

Once convinced of the importance for our business to be present in social networks it's time to consider a social media plan. Be very aware it is not an issue as simple as just “being”. To really take advantage of these communication platforms we must prepare a good strategy that will complement our traditional marketing and customer service plans. We must also allocate resources to make it work. Without a well defined "Social Media Plan", without an accurate implementation and regular follow-up of our media presence, we will easily meet with disappointing results, even counterproductive. But we'll leave that topic for a future post ...